Banding results for secondary schools in Wales due to be released

The latest banding results for the 219 state secondary schools in Wales will be revealed later today.

The latest banding results for the 219 state secondary schools in Wales will be revealed later today.

It is the second year of the controversial system in which schools are placed in one of five bands depending on factors relating to GCSE performance and school attendance.

Welsh government ministers insist the system is not akin to league tables and is not designed to “name an shame” the worst-performing schools.

Instead they insist the system is designed to help education consortia identify weaknesses and support schools more effectively – with high-performing schools expected to share best practice.

Schools will later find themselves placed in one of five bands, with the best performers going into Band 1 and the worst into Band 5.

Factors include attendance rates, GCSE results and whether pupils do as well as expected but the system also looks at social factors like how many children receive free school meals.

It is designed to reflect whether schools are making improvements relative to each other meaning a school could move up or down a band even if results are static.

Last year schools in Bands 4 and 5 were offered £10,000 to improve their performance. The Welsh government has not yet decided whether extra funding will be available this year.

Banding for primary schools has been delayed until 2014.

But in the second year of the system, many teachers and politicians have already called for school banding to be scrapped.

Shadow Education Minister for Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas has branded the banding incentives for schools as perverse and said schools in the bottom bands are not receiving the proper support.

Ahead of today’s results, he said: “The Party of Wales believes the current banding system is league tables by another name and is concerned that little progress has been made in improving those schools in the bottom two bands.

“Though £10,000 each has been given to these schools, the failure to implement fully regional educational support services – a failure which the Education Minister has acknowledged – means key best practice and support work is not in place, condemning schools to a cycle of decline”.

Meanwhile NUT Cymru said the Welsh Government’s decision over the timing of publishing banding data meant teachers would have it “hanging over them” over the Christmas period.

David Evans, NUT Cymru secretary, said: The timing of this year’s bandings seems to show little or no consideration for teachers and school leadership teams.

“Publishing the bandings this late in the term will result in heads and deputies fielding calls from parents with limited time to really address any concerns.

“It will also leave teachers in a position where the negative impacts of banding hangs over them throughout the Christmas period.”

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